Beautiful People: January 2015 (Author Edition!)

Beautiful People is a monthly blog linkup hosted by Sky (from Further Up and Further In) and Cait (from Paper Fury). To find out more about the linkup, and to join in, click the button to visit their blogs!

This month, instead of interviewing a character, Beautiful People is about the authors!

*blushes*

So, you get to learn a bit about my writing history...

1. How many years have you been writing? When did you officially consider yourself a “writer”?

I’ve been writing “officially” for about eight years, though I’d written things for school and the occasional scribbling before then. So I’ve considered myself a writer since 2007.

2. How/why did you start writing?

For some reason the internet at my house wasn’t working that day, and I was bored. At this time, my family had one desktop that we all shared, but no one was using it at the moment, so I decided to play some card games, and quickly got bored of that. I opened up Wordpad and started typing out a story about Captain Jack Sparrow, and by the next day had finished my first ever work of fan fiction. I was very proud.

Then my little sister wanted to know if I would write a story about Bootstrap Bill Turner, so I did. From there I started writing little prequel stories featuring the characters from Pirates of the Caribbean, and some of my own additional characters. From there, I branched out into writing fantasy stories.

3. What’s your favorite part of writing?

That’s a tough one. I think, maybe, being able to watch a new story unfold. I love going on an adventure with a group of characters and seeing where they end up.

4. What your biggest writing struggle?

I can be a very slow writer. I go through phases where I won’t write for days at a time, and then when I do, I may only get a couple hundred words in (on a good day). But I’ve been working on developing some self-discipline in regards to that, so I think I am getting better.

5. Do you write best at night or day?

I have drafts of stories that were written almost entirely between the hours of 10:00PM and 3:00AM. I used to stay up really late to write all the time, and I’m definitely a productive writer at night. But for the last year or two, I’ve tried to train myself to do a lot of writing during the day. It works better with my current schedule.

6. What does you writing space look like? (Feel free to show us pictures.)

Well, my writing space is exactly “defined” right now. Mostly, I’ve either been working in the living room or at the kitchen table. I don’t have pictures of those workspaces, though.

7. How long does it typically take you to write a complete draft?

It’s a complicated answer. I have drafts that took me a month or two to complete. And then I have some I’ve been working on for a couple of years that, while nearing completion, aren’t quite there yet. Looking at the novels I have finished, I’d say the average timeframe is 1 to 3 months.

8. How many projects do you work on at once?

Between brainstorming, prepping, drafting, and revising, I’d say I usually work on 3-5 projects at a time. When I get stuck in one project and can’t figure something out, I take a day or two to work on one of the others.

9. Do you prefer writing happy endings, sad ones, or somewhere in between?

I do, sometimes. I’m a bit self-conscious about my work, so when I let someone read one of my stories, it is usually only when I feel that it is polished enough for eyes other than my own.

12. What’s your ultimate writing goal or dream?

Hmm. I think it would be really cool to make it on a bestseller list. Not that I want to be super famous or anything like that; I just think it would be a huge achievement.

But really, I think my goal is to be able to write as my job. I don’t need to become really rich; I would just like to be successful enough to support myself.

13. If you didn’t write, what would you want to do?

Well, before I wanted to be a writer, I wanted to be a doctor. More recently, I’ve considered editing. And of course, there’s that daydream of maybe one day owning a coffee/book shop. :)

Outside of career aspirations though, I would absolutely love to travel. There are so many places I want to see, and I think it would be pretty amazing to just be able to spend a while visiting all those places.

14. Do you have a book you’d like to write one day but don’t feel you’re ready to attempt it yet?

Yes. There are a few ideas I’ve had for a long time that aren’t quite ready to be written yet. In part, I’m not sure I’m quite ready to tackle them. Also, the ideas are still in development, and still need a lot of work.

15. Which story has your heart and won’t let go?

All of my stories do. But I do have a series of novels that hold a particularly special place. It’s still an unfinished series, but I hope one day to finish it. It began in 2009 with my NaNoWriMo novel Under the November Moon, and continued in 2010 with its sequel Beneath A Summer Sky. I love the cast of the stories, and I learned so much from writing those books. I am still trying to figure out the last book. I had started writing it in 2011 but the plot wasn’t quite right.

Comments

Wow! LOVE this. You and I are very much alike regarding writerly things, I believe. :] I love the idea of your Pirates of the Caribbean fan fiction! It's great fun to think of your beloved characters from movies and books and add to their stories yourself. I have yet to try, but that sounds like a wonderful exercise.

I, too, am a slow writer. And when one story comes to a standstill, I usually end up working on another idea. Most of the time, it's set in an entirely different era/genre. Is that how it is with you?

Best of wishes to you, Jameson! I hope to one day see one (or more!) of your works on the shelves. :]

Fan fiction is tons of fun to write, but I haven't dabbled in it in what feels like ages!

I tend to find that's true for me as well! Right now, mainly I'm revising a fantasy/mystery (which I haven't touched in...like three years...), but on the side I'm also drafting a contemporary-ish short story (although it's slightly futuristic as well? I'm not sure exactly where it falls on that scale, to be honest). I think it's a bit easier to switch between them since they're so different.

I also love seeing a story unfold as I write. It's the most wonderful thing to finally see a WIP coming together, and it makes me so much more motivated to write. I also love seeing my ideas form as I keep on thinking about them. I'm a night writer, too, until my parents come in and say I have to go to bed. J.R.R. Tolkien, Jane Austen, Marissa Meyer and C.S. Lewis have all influenced my writing, too. They all make it to my list of favorite authors.

Isn't it magical? I'm always surprised at some of the twists that come along in writing, but it's great fun when the pieces start to fall into place.

I think nighttime writing is easier because everything seems to calm down then, maybe? It used to seem like that was when my brain would finally decide kick into writing gear and focus on actually writing a story, hehe.

Fan fiction, right? It's awesome! And it's how a lot of us have gotten started. :) Getting a look at your writing story (and your story stories) is really cool, and it's awesome that you're working on discipline and gaining a little bit more for yourself. Also, Marissa Meyer is awesome.